Baby On Board? That's What WAITRESS at the Brooks Atkinson Theater Is All About!

I'm just about half way through my pregnancy of my second child. Still in that in-between stage where I'm unquestionably carting around a substantial bump but still trying to squeeze into my old clothes. I just need to make it to spring and I'll surrender to full blown maternity clothes. I promise! Writing for Broadway World has been a dream come true and having the time and resources to see local theater in New Jersey is such an enormous privilege. Last Sunday, I took a rare solo (well, I guess technically I had baby #2 with me) trip into NYC to see Jessie Mueller's last performance of Waitress. This may not seem like a big deal to most of you but when you're a mom, leaving your kid for an entire Sunday means someone else gives up their Sunday because they love you. That's a lot of love right there (shout out to my husband and Alexander's grandparents who made it all work and kept my happy boy extra happy!)

Okay, back to the show! As soon as I walked into the entrance of the Brooks Atkinson Theater, which smells like fresh baked pie by the way, I was greeted with smiles and what felt like extra care. I chalked it up to the enormous pair of rose colored glasses I was sporting that day. As I made my way up the stairs to the bathroom (or "a pregnant woman's second home") I saw what all women always see, a line wrapped around the lobby. It's just one of those things ladies have had to deal with since the beginning of time, although I have to say I feel like a queen when I go to a Giants' game with my husband, I have my pick of the litter! So, I found the end which happened to be near the entrance of the bathroom and the usher took one look at my belly and said "Oh no, missy, you are not waiting in this line, this is what we are all about here at this show!" I have to admit, for a not-so-brief second I was horrified at the thought of cutting in front of a hundred women but everyone was so sweet and supportive. Cue: queen feeling.

I squeezed through the aisle filled with very accommodating and extremely excited theater goers and took my seat. Throughout the show the phrase "this is what we are all about here" rang sweetly in my head. As I watched the show, for the second time (don't judge me), I realized that every single character, save one - if you've seen it you know who I'm talking about - is doing whatever they can in their own unique and messy way to help Jenna make Lemonade Pie out of the very sour lemons she's collected in her life. They might be crass and crotchety like Ol' Joe or neurotic and precise like Dawn or lipstick stained and rough around the edges like Becky but they all have an iridescent kindness that cuts through it all. And it's all to make sure this mama and this baby have a fighting chance at a happy life.

The performance was magical. There was a standing ovation in the middle of the second act for Jessie's final rendition of She Used to Be Mine, we were all in it together. At curtain call the show's writer, Jessie Nelson, came out and said some wonderful and presumably very true things about their leading lady and then handed over the mic to Miss Mueller who ushered out two ladies dressed in plain clothes on to the stage. And this is what she said:

"If you want to know I survived 500 performances it's these two ladies right here, Adele Miskie and Jenny Pendergraft because, so, "technically" Adele works on costumes and "technically" Jenny does our hair but these ladies are with me...these ladies are in the trenches with me. They're with me when I'm getting ready, when I've had a bad day, when I've had a good day. They are open and their hearts are so big, and that's what it's all about isn't it?"

Why yes, Jessie Mueller, I believe that is what it's all about.